Giving Students Opportunities to Use New Vocabulary
Consider the Draft Literacy Learning Progressions - By the End of Year 10: Students will draw on a large reading vocabulary that is connected to their own knowledge of the world and that includes academic, subject-specific, and technical words and terms to express abstract concepts within and across curriculum areas.
A literacy strategy to support this is called 'Concept Circles'
From Effective Literacy Strategies in Years 9 to 13, Ministry of Education, 2004
This strategy helps students to explain concepts (including the meanings of words) and to see the connections between concepts (and between words).
What the teacher does:
Draw a circle on the board and divide it into four segments.
In each segment, write a key word associated with the subject content. The four words all need to express concepts that relate to each other.
The students discuss the words in the circle with a partner, working out and explaining the conceptual relationships that link the words.
They share and discuss their ideas with the whole class.
What the teacher looks for:
Are the students explaining the links?
How accurately are the students using the specialised words when they are explaining the relationships between concepts?
A variation on this strategy is to leave one segment of the circle blank and ask the students to first work out what the missing concept or term is and then explain that decision to a group or the class.
Another strategy is 'Guess The Word' (Adapted from Top Tools for Literacy and Learning by David Whitehead, Pearson Eduaction, 2001).
This tool helps you assess the prior knowledge of students in relation to a particular topic and assess the growth in students' topic-related vocabulary. It also helps student guess and define key words in a text.
Discuss with students what they already know about the study topic and then discuss the title, subheadings, illustrations and other features of a set text.
Ask the students to guess what key content words they might see or hear in the text. Record these words and ask the students to copy them into Column 1 on thier guess the word sheets (see the example below).
Ask the students to tick off the words they correctly guessed would be in the text (Column 2) as they read or listen, and to add key words they think are central to the content (but didn't guess they would be there) in Column 3.
Discuss with the students the words they did not expect to see or hear, i.e. those in Column 3.
The next day, present the same text again and ask the students to write definitions of the key content words not guessed (Column 4).
Finally, (this could be homework), ask the students to research an expert's definitions of the key words that were listed in Column 3, and record their definitions in Column 5.
Example:
Guess the Word Sheet
Column 1
Column 2
Column 3
Column 4
Column 5
Words we expect to hear or read
Tick when we hear or read the word
Key words we didn't expect to see or hear
Our meanings for the words we didn't expect to see or hear
Experts' meanings for the words we didn't expect to see or hear
Blue
fluke
tail - like the fin on a fish, only sideways
either of the lobes of a whale's tail (Oxford Dictionary, 10th ed.)
blow hole
baleen
fibre inside the mouth of a whale
whalebone plates in the mouth for straining plankton from the water (Oxford Dictionary, 10th ed.)
blubber
krill
small fish
small shrimp-like planktonic crustaceans which are the principal food of baleen whales (Oxford Dictionary, 10th ed.)
Text: Whales, mammals of the sea.
Helping Students to Process Information found in a Text
Pair share (think and design-a-question)
(From Top Tools for Literacy and Learning by David Whitehead, Pearson Eduaction, 2001)
Think Pair Share
Share a text with the students.
Ask the students a text-related, challenging, critical or open ended question. Students should work in pairs to plan their answers, then share those answers with the rest of the class.
Design-A-Question Pair Share
Share a text with the students.
Ask the students to design a question about the text. This question is likely to be one they know the answer to (but not always).
Ask the students to share their questions with the other students who will attempt to answer them.
Both question and answer can be shared with the whole class.
Note:
As an extension, record students' questions and ask the class to select the 'best' question. Discuss what makes a good question. Note that students can be ruthless in their selection, and expect a rapid improvement int the design of questions.
NEW! Using Writing Frames (From Effective Literacy Strategies Years 9-13, Ministry of Education 2004)
A writing frame is a skeleton or outline of a planned text that includes prompts for learner writers. The outline summarises the structure of the planned text and states what should be written in each section. The prompts, which may include questions, key points, or sentence starters, are designed to help the students fill in the outline.
Here are two examples of a writing frame to help students complete a piece of writing that answers the question What makes tropical cyclones so destructive to the islands of the Pacific and to the people who live there?
Example 1
Introduction
A tropical cyclone is...
A tropical cyclone brings destruction to the Pacific Islands because...
Strong Winds
The winds are so strong that...
The winds destroy...
People who live there...
Heavy Rain
The rain that comes with a cyclone is so heavy that...
Flooding causes damage to the...
Farmland becomes...
Storm Surge
A storm surge (high tides and big waves) occurs when strong winds...
The coral reef is damaged by...
The soil on the coastal land becomes...
Conclusion
A great deal of damage is caused by...
As a result...
The people living on the Pacific Islands...
WORD BANK
destroy
buildings
roads
trees
landslides
property
damage
water
coral
rock dumped
destruction
houses
vegetation
rivers
blocks
crops
loss of life
waves
contaminated
coastal
Example 2
Introduction - classification of the phenomena
In this section, you will need to explain briefly what a cyclone is and outline the effects of cyclones on the Pacific islands.
Explanation and characteristics of effects
Strong winds
Describe the strong winds that come up during a cyclone. Explain the effects these strong winds have on settlements and on the people living in them.
Heavy rain
In this paragraph, explain the effects of the heavy rain on the countryside. Describe the extent of flooding and the damage this causes to houses and farms.
Storm surge
Explain what a storm surge is. Describe its effects on coal rock and on the shoreline. Mention how the soil becomes soaked with salt and the effect of this saturation on farming.
Conclusion
In your final section, draw together all your ideas to answer the set question. Summarise the main factors you have written about in the three paragraphs in the body of the text. Write a concluding statement about the extent of the destruction that tropical cyclones bring to the Pacific islands.
WORD BANK hurricane-force winds
uprooted
downpours
damage
flood plain
waves
contamination
destroy
vegetation
intense
loss of life
property
coral reefs
dumped
destruction
buildings
landslides
rivers
crops
high tide
coastal
debris
missiles
blocking
road
pollution
erosion
excessive
An example of a more generic writing frame that does not contain the detail in the ones above, but can still be useful for learners is:
TOPIC __
(State the topic of your essay and BRIEFLY describe the three points (ideas) you will be writing about)
The first reason why …..
(This is your first point/idea. Remember to explain it fully and give examples).
The second reason why …..
(This is your second point/idea. Again, explain it fully and give examples).
Finally …..
(This is your third point/idea. Explain it fully and give examples).
To conclude,
Re-state your topic and make your points again. (Try to use different words so your essay doesn’t sound too repetitive). Leave the reader with something to think about.
*See the Secondary English wiki for an example of a detailed writing plan for a 'Lord of the Flies' essay question.
Consider the Draft Literacy Learning Progressions - By the End of Year 10:
Students will draw on a large reading vocabulary that is connected to their own knowledge of the world and that includes academic, subject-specific, and technical words and terms to express abstract concepts within and across curriculum areas.
A literacy strategy to support this is called 'Concept Circles'
From Effective Literacy Strategies in Years 9 to 13, Ministry of Education, 2004
This strategy helps students to explain concepts (including the meanings of words) and to see the connections between concepts (and between words).
What the teacher does:
- Draw a circle on the board and divide it into four segments.
- In each segment, write a key word associated with the subject content. The four words all need to express concepts that relate to each other.
For example:What the students do:
What the teacher looks for:
A variation on this strategy is to leave one segment of the circle blank and ask the students to first work out what the missing concept or term is and then explain that decision to a group or the class.
Another strategy is 'Guess The Word' (Adapted from Top Tools for Literacy and Learning by David Whitehead, Pearson Eduaction, 2001).
This tool helps you assess the prior knowledge of students in relation to a particular topic and assess the growth in students' topic-related vocabulary. It also helps student guess and define key words in a text.
- Discuss with students what they already know about the study topic and then discuss the title, subheadings, illustrations and other features of a set text.
- Ask the students to guess what key content words they might see or hear in the text. Record these words and ask the students to copy them into Column 1 on thier guess the word sheets (see the example below).
- Ask the students to tick off the words they correctly guessed would be in the text (Column 2) as they read or listen, and to add key words they think are central to the content (but didn't guess they would be there) in Column 3.
- Discuss with the students the words they did not expect to see or hear, i.e. those in Column 3.
- The next day, present the same text again and ask the students to write definitions of the key content words not guessed (Column 4).
- Finally, (this could be homework), ask the students to research an expert's definitions of the key words that were listed in Column 3, and record their definitions in Column 5.
Example:Guess the Word Sheet
Helping Students to Process Information found in a Text
Pair share (think and design-a-question)
(From Top Tools for Literacy and Learning by David Whitehead, Pearson Eduaction, 2001)
Think Pair Share
Design-A-Question Pair Share
Note:
As an extension, record students' questions and ask the class to select the 'best' question. Discuss what makes a good question. Note that students can be ruthless in their selection, and expect a rapid improvement int the design of questions.
NEW! Using Writing Frames
(From Effective Literacy Strategies Years 9-13, Ministry of Education 2004)
A writing frame is a skeleton or outline of a planned text that includes prompts for learner writers. The outline summarises the structure of the planned text and states what should be written in each section. The prompts, which may include questions, key points, or sentence starters, are designed to help the students fill in the outline.
Here are two examples of a writing frame to help students complete a piece of writing that answers the question What makes tropical cyclones so destructive to the islands of the Pacific and to the people who live there?
Example 1
Introduction
A tropical cyclone is...
A tropical cyclone brings destruction to the Pacific Islands because...
Strong Winds
The winds are so strong that...
The winds destroy...
People who live there...
Heavy Rain
The rain that comes with a cyclone is so heavy that...
Flooding causes damage to the...
Farmland becomes...
Storm Surge
A storm surge (high tides and big waves) occurs when strong winds...
The coral reef is damaged by...
The soil on the coastal land becomes...
Conclusion
A great deal of damage is caused by...
As a result...
The people living on the Pacific Islands...
WORD BANK
destroy
buildings
roads
trees
landslides
property
damage
water
coral
rock dumped
destruction
houses
vegetation
rivers
blocks
crops
loss of life
waves
contaminated
coastal
Example 2
Introduction - classification of the phenomena
In this section, you will need to explain briefly what a cyclone is and outline the effects of cyclones on the Pacific islands.
Explanation and characteristics of effects
Strong winds
Describe the strong winds that come up during a cyclone. Explain the effects these strong winds have on settlements and on the people living in them.
Heavy rain
In this paragraph, explain the effects of the heavy rain on the countryside. Describe the extent of flooding and the damage this causes to houses and farms.
Storm surge
Explain what a storm surge is. Describe its effects on coal rock and on the shoreline. Mention how the soil becomes soaked with salt and the effect of this saturation on farming.
Conclusion
In your final section, draw together all your ideas to answer the set question. Summarise the main factors you have written about in the three paragraphs in the body of the text. Write a concluding statement about the extent of the destruction that tropical cyclones bring to the Pacific islands.
WORD BANK
hurricane-force winds
uprooted
downpours
damage
flood plain
waves
contamination
destroy
vegetation
intense
loss of life
property
coral reefs
dumped
destruction
buildings
landslides
rivers
crops
high tide
coastal
debris
missiles
blocking
road
pollution
erosion
excessive
An example of a more generic writing frame that does not contain the detail in the ones above, but can still be useful for learners is:
TOPIC __
(State the topic of your essay and BRIEFLY describe the three points (ideas) you will be writing about)
The first reason why …..
(This is your first point/idea. Remember to explain it fully and give examples).
The second reason why …..
(This is your second point/idea. Again, explain it fully and give examples).
Finally …..
(This is your third point/idea. Explain it fully and give examples).
To conclude,
Re-state your topic and make your points again. (Try to use different words so your essay doesn’t sound too repetitive). Leave the reader with something to think about.
*See the Secondary English wiki for an example of a detailed writing plan for a 'Lord of the Flies' essay question.